Monson: Pack away the sentimentality, the Seahawks win Super Bowl 50

Life's full of tough choices, and I have one here, picking a Super Bowl favorite out of the NFC. Nothing revolutionary in my finalists — the Seahawks and the Packers. The real pain comes in kicking one to the side.

There are all kinds of reasons to go either way, and a sentimental one for me, seeing that this is Super Bowl 50 we're talking about, and I clearly remember watching the first Super Bowl, a title game that wasn't known by that name back then. Seems like yesterday. Funny how half a century blows by.

The Packers won that first one and it's tempting to go bookends here, and it's not all about going nostalgic. The Packers have that great offense, led by the best quarterback on the planet. I'm a sucker for prolific offense, and there is no individual position in all of team sports more important than the quarterback position in football. Any team with Aaron Rodgers on it is a solid bet to hoist Vince's trophy.

The loss of Jordy Nelson, though, makes you wonder. And makes me worry about giving a nod to a sentimental pick.

As for the Seahawks, oh, man. The memory of the way they lost last year's championship lingers, still. But it might drive them forward. It's one thing to have something taken from you. It's another when you straight give something away. They had Super Bowl 49 won, all they had to do was … well, you know.

They re-signed Russell Wilson, taking care of that business, and they re-signed former Aggie Bobby Wagner, one of the best inside linebackers in football, and they added tight end Jimmy Graham, after re-upping so many key players the year before. And let's not do what Seattle coaches did at the end of Super Bowl 49 — forget about Marshawn Lynch in the backfield.

There are a few issues for the Seahawks to overcome, including an offensive line that lost center Max Unger, and battling injuries to the secondary. On the other hand, the club knows how to get to the big game with the Roman numerals attached (although Super Bowl 50 will go officially with standard Arabic numbers), having been there the past two postseasons.

With so much core talent cultivated and locked down for the foreseeable future, with the best defense in the league and a motive to right a wrong that's been hanging like a cumulus cloud over them, it's darn near impossible not to go with the Seahawks here.

Where were the 'Hawks in January 1967? Nowhere. They didn't exist.

They exist now, and sentimentality or no, they'll be somewhere in February of 2016 — namely, at Levi's Stadium, winning Super Bowl 50.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.